157,680,000 and counting......

5 years.

60 months.

240 weeks.

1,800 days.

43,200 hours.

2,628,000 minutes.

and 157,680,000 seconds ago I married my best friend.

October 4 (not 5th for those of you who have been slightly confused in the past), 2008, 7pm.

It was the best day of my life and I have had 1,800 best days since then. And when I say 'best' I don't mean best like picture perfect, something out of a Nicolas Sparks movie like 'The Notebook'. I mean as much as Andis looks EXACTLY like Ryan Gosling and my hair is naturally and perfectly red, there are fireworks less times than there aren't. Don't get me wrong. There ARE still fireworks, but after five years of marriage, fireworks look different. Fireworks look like him getting up at 5am and feeling around in the dark for his gym shoes so he doesn't have to turn on the light because it would wake me up, or me taking out ten million bags of trash even though I'm already running late for work because he's been at a wreck all morning and would probably forget to take out the trash because he's already blinded by his hangryness and I don't want him to feel bad about that. It looks like cleaning up poo every morning because you didn't say no when your wife brought home a geriatric dog and loving that dog anyway and not making her do it everytime even though she's the one who begged to bring him home. It looks like sanding and staining and caulking and painting a 100 year old house and turning it into a home together even though every time you do it, you both swear it's the last time you'll do it. It looks like communicating when you don't want to, doing things you don't have to, thinking of someone else always, grieving for the dog  you lost to cancer and the baby you lost for no good reason. It looks like growing out a beard even though it's itchy because she likes it and attempting to shave your legs everyday just in case today is THE DAY. It looks like being proud of each other and fighting to protect your heart and dreaming of a future that includes hairy ears and wrinkles and pudgy bellies, or maybe pudgy-er bellies. It looks like LOVE and love, as we know, is a verb.

                Here's to my favorite verb and the 157,680,000 best seconds it has created so far.

                           Happy 5th (belated) Anniversary my darling man. I heart you big time.